Bittersweet
by Tacroy
Summary: Turning 16 Harry comes into his creature inheritage and his destined mate is looking for him. But Harry already has a serious relationship. How will that work out? Crature!fic
1. Changes

**Disclamer: I'm sorry, but I don't own this universe, JK Rowling own anything recembling Harry Potter.  
><strong>

**AN: So this is a story that's been with me for a while, and i just had to write it down. I have no idea if I remembered to put in every warning. But let's just say that if I find out that I missed some, then I'll put them in the AN before the chapter.  
><strong>

**So this is basiclly your normal creature fic. The creature in this story is my own invention, so I ask you kindly not to use it without asking first.**

**This is also a bit AU. That means that Sirius is alive (some of the events in OotP has been modified to fit this story better) and it will be AU from there. So basically ignore HBP and DH.**

* * *

><p>Silence. The night was always silent. All the noise from the neighbourhood died out with the sun's last rays, and left was the silence. Even the house was quiet now. Only the normal cracking noises that houses make were there. Everyone was asleep. Everyone, except for a boy lying on his bed and enjoying the silence.<p>

Harry Potter lay comfortable underneath his cover and watched the moon hanging outside his window. He was tired but he didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to sleep because he was afraid of what would come. Ever since he got back from Hogwarts he'd suffered from nightmares. Those who had died hunted him in the dreams. He felt that it was all his fault that they had lost their lives. He dreamed about who he had almost lost, and then felt guilty because they were still alive and that he was happy about it. These dreams came to him every time he closed his eyes. And there was nothing he could do to chase them away. No one knew about them. The Dursley's didn't know because Harry knew that they didn't care. His friends didn't know because he didn't want to worry them. And the love of his life didn't know because Harry didn't want him to feel helpless by the fact that there was nothing he could do. So Harry decided to suffer alone.

But this night was a special night. Because tomorrow was Harry's sixteenth birthday. And that meant that he was one year closer to leaving the house forever. One year closer, and only one year to go. At that thought Harry couldn't help but smile. For a moment the future didn't look to bad. Since he came back he'd been treated worse than a house-elf in the Malfoy household. The only thing that was better was the fact that he still had his room and that no one dared to lay a hand on him. He didn't fool himself with thoughts that it was because they cared about him, or even better - were scared of him. No, it was because they were afraid of his friends. The Weasley's and Lupin could be scary when they wanted to be. And of course the threat of Sirius was still hanging in the air. And Harry was grateful for all of them.

Somewhere in the house he could hear the clock strike midnight.

"Happy birthday Harry," he said to himself and smiled.

In just a few hours someone would come and pick him up and take him to wherever his friends were. Soon he would be surrounded by people that actually liked him. Soon…his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain running through his body. Starting in the middle of his back it quickly spread throughout his body. His back arched and he tried to scream. But every sound got stuck in his throat. His eyes were tightly shut as he tried his hardest to fight back the tears that wanted to burst out. Every muscle seemed to tense up – freeze – before spasms rocked through him. The pain was worse than any crucio could conjure. Then he started to change. He could feel it in every muscle – every nerve. Something was going on. The pain was still there – but it was duller. The worst pain seemed to be focused on one part of him. All of his body hurt, but the intense pain was going on in his head. The head felt like it was going to explode from the pressure. His eyes were still closed, but they hurt more than he thought possible. And all of his teeth felt like extreme cold were eating its way through them.

When he thought that he couldn't handle any more of it the pain moved on. In a rapid speed it ran through him and left a burning trail until they reached his hands. Every bone and nerve ending in his hands was put under pressure. Even his nails hurt.

Then the pain moved on – up his arms and gathering in his lower back. He could almost feel his spine expanding – growing longer and pushing out of his body. Once more he tried to scream as he felt like his body was pierced. But only a small whimper left his lips. He panted – trying his best to breathe. But his lungs didn't want to cooperate with him. He felt a shortage of air. Black and white spots danced across the inside of his eyelids and he felt light-headed. Sweat was covering his body and as the pain increased he felt like he was sinking deeper inside of himself – trying to escape the pain.

And then – just as suddenly as it came – the pain was gone. Harry was breathing hard and tried to calm himself done. He didn't know what had happened, and he didn't know how long it had been going on. His body was stiff and his mind was exhausted. Without any thoughts his body shut down and let him drift away into a recovering sleep.

* * *

><p>Many miles away the boy woke up. His sleep had been restless and his dreams had been vivid. Wide awake he looked around the room just to realise that he was still in his own home. The moon shone through the window and its pale light cast ghostly shadows across the room. The boy's wings uncurled around him and he smiled.<p>

"My mate's here."

Then he went back to sleep trying to seek out his mate through the dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Review?<strong>


	2. Explanations and Reactions

**Disclamer: I don't own anything but the creature-blood. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling**

**AN: Yay. Another chapter already. I hope you'll like it :)**

* * *

><p>The sun shone in through the window and caressed Harry's cheek. He rolled over to the other side to get away from it. He was exhausted and didn't want to wake up just yet. The night's dreams had been worse than normal. And he was aching all over. He groaned as he collided with the wall and pulled the cover over his head. He relaxed and tried to fall back to sleep.<p>

The door opened and he could hear someone sneak in. He knew that it couldn't be his relatives since they would rather be caught dead than walk into Harry's room. The steps were sneaking and for a second the thought of danger crossed Harry's mind.

"Happy birthday Raven," a voice whispered and Harry smiled.

This was a far from danger as he could come. But he was still too tired to move, so he stayed by the wall and let his guest come closer.

"I have a gift for you love," the voice continued and Harry heard the smirk in the tone.

Suddenly the cover was pulled down from him and a gasp reached Harry's ears.

"What in the…? Harry?"

The confusion and distrust in the voice made Harry react. He reached for his glasses at the bedside table and took them on. Then he opened his eyes and tried to focus on the man standing by his bed. But instead of seeing things as normal everything was blurry and unfocused. He blinked in confusion a few times before he took off the glasses. He gasped in surprise as he realised that his sight was perfect without the glasses.

"What the…" he mumbled to himself.

"Harry? Is that you?"

Harry looked up into the concerned brown eyes of his boyfriend.

"Of course it's me Fred. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Have you seen yourself lately?"

Harry looked at him and frowned. What was he talking about? So Harry crawled out of bed and tried to stand up. He tried. But as soon as he got on his feet he fell back onto the bed like there was something that pulled him back. He looked behind him in confusion and yelped in shock as he saw something furry behind him. He shot out of bed and the furry thing followed him. He tried to turn around and look at it, but it moved with him. So he reached back to grab hold of it – and that's when he saw his hands. They still looked almost normal, but his nails were thinner and pointy. As he reached for the furry thing behind him his nails shot out like claws. He froze.

"What's going on?" He asked on the brink of panic – he didn't understand what was happening.

"I have no idea," Fred said with concern in his voice.

He came over to Harry and took him in his arms.

"I think we have to talk to Dumbledore about this."

Harry nodded and let Fred hold him tight. He'd missed the tender embrace for the few weeks that he'd been back with his relatives.

"You think it's still me?" he whispered. He wasn't sure himself if he was totally himself now.

"Of course Raven," Fred whispered back and kissed him. "Only you taste like this."

Harry smiled.

"So you're here to pick me up?"

"Yeah. We decided to make it as easy as possible and to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible."

"'We'?"

"The order. There are another ten members stationed around this house. They'll follow us on a safe distance to a safe spot. And then we'll all apparate to Grimmauld Plan. And then mum will give you breakfast."  
>"Thank Merlin," Harry laughed. "I'm hungry."<p>

Fred kissed him again before he let go. He looked around the room and saw Harry's trunk by the foot of the bed.

"Are you all packed?"

"I never unpacked."

"Brilliant. Get dressed, and then we leave."

Harry looked at Fred and smiled a little.

"You're never too eager to get me dressed," he purred and moved closer to Fred.

"Later love. Now people are waiting, and I don't think that they would like to wait for the hours it would take before I let you go if you don't dress soon."  
>"Spoil sport," Harry pouted and hoped that Fred would fall for it.<p>

"Forget it," Fred laughed and handed Harry some clothes. "We'll have time to play later."

Harry didn't say anything but continued to pout as he accepted the clothes.

Soon Harry was dressed and Fred had shrunk the trunk so that it fitted in his pocket. They made their way down the stairs hand in hand and were met by the Dursley's in the living room. They cast a quick look at the couple before looking away again.

"I'm leaving now," Harry said in an attempt to be polite. "See you next year."

His uncle ignored him and his aunt mumbled something meaningless. Harry sighed and moved towards the door. But he was stopped by Fred that hadn't moved.

"Fred, come on," he pleaded. "Don't do anything. Please."

"I should…" Fred began but Harry interrupted him with a kiss.

"You'll get more of those soon if we just leave and you don't do anything that I'll regret later."  
>Fred sighed and followed out the door.<p>

The sun was blinding and Harry squeezed his eyes shut.

"That hurt," he mumbled.

"What?" Fred asked and he sounded worried.

"The sun. Too bright."

Fred looked down at his raven in concern. The sun was not brighter now than it had been before. But that seemed to be yet another change in Harry. Fred had his suspicions to what had happened – but he needed someone older to confirm it for him. But in the meantime he could try to make it easier for Harry. So he pulled picked up a stone from the ground and transfigured it into a pair of sunglasses.

"Here," he smiled and put them on Harry's face. "Better?"

Harry just nodded and leaned closer to Fred.

They walked in silence along the street. Fred held a protective arm around Harry as the morning stayed quiet. He kept a watching eye on the surroundings in case someone would be stupid enough to attack. Harry felt the tension radiate from Fred and knew that there was nothing he could to calm him down. He wouldn't be calm until they were both safe and sound at the headquarters. Harry could feel the presence of the other order members lurking around in the shadows for extra safety if something should happen. Their presence was making Harry nervous. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't see them – just know that they were there. He couldn't wait for them to apparate to safety.

"How far are we going?" Harry asked as they came closer to the end of the street.

"Just a little bit further. We want to be out of sight for muggles before we do anything. Don't want unnecessary attention."

Harry nodded. He could understand that. So when Fred steered them towards the park Harry knew that they would soon leave. The park was always deserted by this time of the day. Harry knew that because he used to be there to get rid of the eerie feelings his dreams left him in the mornings.

They reached the park and just as Harry suspected it was totally deserted. He smiled. In just a few moments he would be with his friends.

"Are you ready?" Fred asked him as they stopped right next to the swings.

Harry looked up at him and nodded.

"Good. Hold on tight."

His hold of Harry tightened and Harry made sure to take a tight grip on his arm and he shut his eyes. Then he felt the familiar pull in his stomach and he felt the world start to spin around him. He really hated to side-along-apparate.

When he opened his eyes again he was standing on the step to the headquarters. He felt sick and it felt like he would throw up.

"Alright Raven?" Fred asked when he heard Harry dry heave.

"Yeah, once my stomach calms down."

Harry shuddered as he took a deep breath to calm down himself.

Fred ruffled his hair and opened the door. He held it open so that Harry could get inside first.

Harry brushed past Fred and inhaled the familiar air for the old house. And suddenly he was overwhelmed by scents – scents that he'd never felt before.

"You feel that?" he asked and took hold of Fred once more.

"Feel what?" Fred looked around them but he couldn't figure out what Harry meant.

"The scent. It smells…well, I don't know…it's just…"

He didn't get further until a scent of threat made its way to his nose. On instincts that he didn't know he had his nails came out, he arched his back and hissed as he turned around. Fred groaned as the nails dug into his arm and scratched him as Harry suddenly let go of him.

Harry stood eye to eye with Remus and he kept hissing.

"Harry?" Remus looked at him with disbelief in his eyes.

When Harry didn't answer, or calmed down, Fred put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

"It is," Fred sighed as he felt Harry relax a bit under his touch. "We need to speak to Dumbledore."

"I can see that," Remus said without letting Harry out of his sight. "Are you sure this is Harry?"

"I am," Fred said defensive. "He's just changed."

"I see…you should go directly to Dumbledore. Take the floo in the living room. No one's there at the moment."

"Thanks. Come on Harry."

When Harry didn't respond Fred took hold of his arm and dragged him with him along the hallway towards the living room.

Once they turned right and came into the living room Fred closed the door behind them. As soon as the door closed Harry relaxed and his nails retracted once more.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"That was Lupin," Fred sighed.

"It was danger. I smelt it."

Harry sniffed the air just to reassure himself that it was really gone.

"No Harry. It was just Lupin. He's no threat, and you know it."

"But…"

"We're going to Dumbledore now. Perhaps he knows what's going on with you."

"Yeah…"

They went over to the fire place and Harry went first. He stepped inside and threw the floo-powder into the flames. Seconds later the green flames surrounded him and he felt how the solid ground disappeared from underneath him and he swirled into the flames while they took him to the headmaster's office.

Suddenly Harry stumbled out of the fire place in Dumbledore's office. He coughed and brushed himself off.

"Harry, my dear boy," Dumbledore said from behind him.

Harry spun around and hissed in surprise before he reminded himself that it was only the headmaster and that he didn't need to fear.

"I was under the impression that your Weasley was taking you to the headquarters," he said and looked over the rim of his glasses.

"Yeah, well…" Harry began but was interrupted when the fire place flamed up again and Fred walked out.

"Good morning professor," he said and nodded at the headmaster before putting his arm around Harry.

"Good morning Mr Weasley. What can I do for you?"

"As you might have noticed Harry's changed over night," Fred said and Harry could feel how Dumbledore was studying him intensely.

"I can see that. Care to sit down and tell me what happened?"

Harry nodded and made way to the chairs in front of the headmaster's desk. Fred sat down next to him and never let him out of his touch. That made Harry blush a little but he didn't mind.

"May I offer you a lemon dropp?" Dumbledore asked and held forth a bowl of sweets.

Both Harry and Fred declined and Harry felt the scent from them itch his nose.

"So Harry," Dumbledore asked as he leaned back in to his chair and closed his hands together. "Why don't you tell me what's happened."

Harry sighed.

"I don't know professor. Last night around midnight I just started to hurt, and then I passed out. And when I woke up this morning this is what I looked like."

"I see. And today is your birthday, right?"

Harry nodded. He swallowed hard. He didn't know what had happened to him, and he didn't know why. But he wanted to know what it was. He felt the reassuring pressure of Fred's hand in his own and could relax. At least he wasn't alone.

"You know something, don't you?" Fred asked.

He could see it in Dumbledore's eyes. And he had a feeling that Dumbledore knew exactly the same thing that Fred himself was suspecting.

"I might," the old man answered before turning back to Harry.

"Tell me my boy, have you heard about creature inheritance?"

"What?" Harry was confused. He'd heard about it in passing, but it was nothing that he'd cared to remember.

"Many wizards families have creature blood in their blood line. It's actually a very common thing," Dumbledore explained. "Usually the creature blood makes it appearance around the sixteenth or seventeenth birthday. It's about that time that ones magic is stable enough to handle the transformation."

"You say that it's common, then how come I've never seen it before?"

"Maybe you just didn't notice," Fred shrugged.

When Harry glared at him he smiled apologetic.

"I mean," he continued. "Just last year there was a Rawenclaw boy that came into his inheritance. Nothing much happened and hardly anyone noticed it since it's fairly common."

"So you mean _this_" Harry gestured towards himself. "is common?"

"Harry…" Fred started but Harry didn't want to listen to him.

"No. I want to know what happened. I want to know what I am. Am I still me?"

"You are still Harry," Dumbledore said with a calm voice. "You are still the son of James and Lily Potter."

"But _what_ am I?" Harry sighed.

He leaned back in the chair and tried to fight tears that he felt were beginning to gather in his eyes.

"I don't know all of the creatures in your father's family, but since you have some very distinct features I do have my suspicions."

"Oh?" Harry's face lit up with some hope for an explanation, but it vanished again when Dumbledore continued.

"Though I am not the right man to tell you about it. I do believe that there is one that is better suited for the situation since his knowledge with these things far exceeds those of mine."

The headmaster left his chair and walked over to the fire place. He threw some powder into the flames and watched them turn green before he asked for Severus Snape.

Seconds later Harry heard the potion master's voice through the flame and shuddered. In his current state he was not in the mood to meet his most hated professor. He could have accepted anyone else, but apparently he didn't have his luck with him. Fred felt how Harry tensed up and moved his chair closer so that he could put his arm around Harry. He knew that that was little to no comfort, but it was all he could do at the moment. And Harry seemed to accept his manoeuvre and leaned into the embrace.

Soon Snape stepped out of the flames and accompanied the headmaster back to the desk. Harry could feel the cold stare on him, but he couldn't bring himself to look up. Instead he moved deeper into Fred's embrace and tried to hide himself.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Snape sneered.

Fred shot him a deadly glare but said nothing. He knew better than to argue with the professor. He let one of his hands stroke Harry's back. Unconsciously his other had reached for Harry's hair and was soon intertwined in the black locks. Suddenly Harry started to purr. Fred looked down on him and saw that he had begun stroking Harry's newly acquired cat ears.

Both professors looked at Harry with different states of surprise. Most visible was it on Dumbledore since Snape did his best to hide it behind his stoic mask.

"It seems that your theory was right headmaster," Snape said and pulled out a parchment from his inner pocket. "Are you sure there are no Asians relatives in the Potter line?"

"I'm very sure," Dumbledore said.

"Fine. Then this is all I've got."

He turned back to the pair sitting on the chairs.

"Potter."

Harry's ears moved in the direction of the voice but he made no sign to move.

"Potter!" Snape said again, a bit harsher this time.

Immediately Harry's head shot up and he turned to his professor. He shyly looked up at Snape and blinked a few times.

Snape held out the parchment for Harry to take, but Harry just looked at it in confusion.

"Read it Potter. It's all the information there is about you."

Hesitantly Harry took it and opened it. One page was all he had in his hands.

"You're a rare creature Harry," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. "You should read this."

Harry nodded and held the paper so that Fred could read along with him.

_**Kattum**_

_Kattum's are a rare race of cat-like humans (very different from the Japanese Neko-jin). They live in small families: two mates and their children (also called kittens)._

_Little is known about how the family lives. _

_Kattum's_ _are divided into two groups: dominant and submissive. Each family is one dominant (the provider and protector) and one submissive (the carer)_

_**Dominant **_

_A dominant Kattum is easily recognised and easy to tell apart form a submissive because of its wings. The wings, as well as the tail, usually take the colour of the kattum's hair. The wings span from the size of the Kattum up to five times the body length._

_The dominant Kattum is very protective and possessive towards its mate - especially if the mate is in heat or pregnant. If the dominant feels that his/her mate is threatened in any way they are very likely to kill in order to protect._

_**Submissive**_

_A submissive Kattum is smaller than its dominant mate. They also lack the wings. They have more cat-like features which they are unable to hide such as their cat-eyes and pointed teeth._

_An unmated submissive is unable to hide its ears and tail from view, and they are also unable to access their full power._

_An unmated submissive can be stubborn and even vicious. But once mated it tend to calm down._

_**Reproduction**_

_Little is known about the kattum's mating process. It is known however that the submissive goes into heat twice a year once they've found their mate. The oncoming heat can be predicted __with a change of diet and drastic mood-swings._

_The heat varies from 5-10 days._

_**The Kattum's wrath**_

_It's the ultimate defence only used by submissive kattums. _

_No one knows the full extent of this power since none has lived long enough to tell about it._

_But when a submissive is threatened and its mate isn't there they have to rely on themselves. Since they lack the ability to fly to safety they attack instead._

_Not many kattums use this defence since it's very tiring and drains them of their energy. It can possibly even kill them_

Harry read the page once more. Then he looked up at his professors.

"Are you kidding me?" he was confused and the paper hadn't done much to help with that confusion.

"I'm afraid not my boy," Dumbledore said.

"So this is what I am now?"

"It looks like that, yes."

Harry looked back down at the paper again and eyed it through.

"But I don't have any wings…"

And the smirk on Snape's face that made him almost made him shudder once more.

"Seems like you're not the dominant then."

Harry's face fell and he didn't know what to say. Once more Fred held him tight and kissed him.

"I don't care Harry. You're still my Harry. My Raven."

Harry just nodded.

"I want to go home," he whispered in defeat.

He needed some time alone before he could accept it.

"Of course Harry," Dumbledore said and left his chair. "You two should go back home and I will come and see you tomorrow. If you have any questions, just ask them."

"I will. Thank you professor."

With Fred's arm around him Harry walked over to the fire place and flooed back to Grimmauld Place.

He arrived in the same living room that they had left a while ago. For once Fred was out of words – not even a joke came from him. And Harry was thankful for that. He didn't want to talk right now.

Carefully he opened the door and made sure that no one was there. Then he hurried up the stairs and locked himself into the room that was his. He threw himself on the bed and buried his head in the pillow.

This was not the good day that he thought it would be.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews?<strong>


	3. You are so beautiful

**Disclamer: I still don't own anything, JK Rowling does.**

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews. Hope you'll like this chapter too.**

* * *

><p>The boy was waking up from his dreams. All night he'd been trying to find his mate. But without knowing more it was impossible to find it. He didn't even know if it was a male of female. But the boy didn't mind, he was just happy to know that his mate was out there. It filled him with so many emotions that he was very unused to. He smiled. He would spend the summer trying to find out who it was.<p>

For a moment he wondered if he should tell his parents about it. But he soon decided against it. He hadn't even told them about his changes since he wasn't sure about how they would react to him. He was extremely happy that he could hide every change with very little effort.

But right now he didn't want to dwell on right or wrong – he was too happy for that. This was a good day.

* * *

><p>Harry lay on his bed and stared up in the ceiling. This was not his ideal birthday. He had planed on waking up, going to Grimmauld Place to be with his friends and spend the rest of the summer in peace with his loved ones. He had not planned on waking up with cat-ears, retractable claws and, worst of all, a black tail. The fact that he hadn't freaked out was only thanks to Fred being there and taking it slow. He didn't want to look in any mirror. He didn't want to see his changes. As long as he didn't see them, maybe they weren't there. But he knew he was fooling himself. He could feel every new feature. He also knew, deep down, that if he looked in the mirror he would see cat-eyes.<p>

He knew that the only reason why the Dursley's hadn't started to scream that morning when he left was because they hadn't even bothered to give him a look as he left. They were just happy that the freak was gone. If they could decide then they would never lay eyes on him again.

Harry felt some stray tears make their way down his cheek. He was a freak. And now it was more visible than ever. How Fred could even touch him went beyond his imagination. He sobbed. And the way Snape had treated him didn't make it any better. Why did he have to be so cold and almost joyous about Harry's distress.

More tears streamed down his face and he just let them flow. He didn't have the energy to fight them any longer.

There was a soft knock on the door. Harry didn't respond – he wanted to be alone. But there was a second knock on the door and Harry knew that he wouldn't be left alone. He turned towards the wall and curled up in a ball as he heard the door open.

"Raven?" Fred asked as he snuck in. "Are you alright?"

Harry didn't answer but curled up closer to the wall. His ears moved in the direction of the door when he heard Fred move across the carpet covering the floor and dampening the sound of them. The mattress dipped behind him and he knew that Fred had sat down.

"How are you feeling?" Fred asked and put his hand on Harry's arm.

But Harry pulled away. He didn't want Fred to touch him. He couldn't even understand how Fred would want to touch him. But Fred was persistent. Every time Harry pulled away Fred moved closer.

"How can you even want to touch me now?" Harry sobbed when he couldn't get any further away. "I'm a freak, and now everyone can see it."

He sobbed again and buried his head in his chest.

"Don't ever say that Harry," Fred said seriously. "You're not a freak, so don't you dare say that."

"But I am. Look at me!"

Fred didn't answer but moved closer. He put his hand on Harry's face and turned it towards him.

"You're beautiful."

"I'm a freak."

"You're my Harry. My Raven. My everything." He wiped away some of the tears from Harry's cheeks.

"You're the one I want to marry once you graduate."

Harry froze and stared back at him – not sure if he'd heard that right.

"What?"

Fred smiled down at him and kissed his nose.

"I want to marry you. If you'd have me of course."

"I…I…I…" Harry stuttered trying to find the right words. "You…"

"I love you Harry. I love you today. I'll love you tomorrow. And I'll love you for the rest of my life. Will you let me?"

Finally Harry smiled.

"I love you too. Of course I want to marry you."

Then Fred held out a ring. When Harry saw it his jaw dropped. It was beautiful. So simple, but yet so wonderful. A simple golden ring with a red and black thread decorating it. Fred placed it on his finger and Harry felt like a missing part of him had finally found its way back. He sat up and crashed his lips together with Fred's. Moaning when Fred's hands moved across his face was all it took for the older one to enter his mouth and their sweet tastes mingled. Harry loved the way Fred kissed him. It was always hot and passionate – and yet so sweet and sensitive. He could never understand how Fred could do two so different feelings at the same time. But that was what he loved about Fred – not everything could be explained.

When Fred's hand accidentally brushed over Harry's newly acquired ears he was quickly brought back to reality. He broke the kiss and pulled away, leaving Fred looking puzzled.

"Do you really want to marry me when I look like this?"

"Raven," Fred fought back a sigh. "You are beautiful. Nothing can change that."

"But…"

"I wish you could see yourself like I see you. It doesn't matter what you look like, because it was Harry I fell in love with – not your body."

He crooked his head and eyed Harry up and down a few times.

"Though I really do love that body," he winked and managed to make Harry blush.

He laughed and leaned closer. He rested his forehead against Harry's for a moment and looked him in the eyes.

"You are beautiful."

And he pressed a quick kiss to Harry's lips before he left the bed and pulled Harry up with him.

Unwilling to move, but without struggle, Harry followed him out of the bed. Fred dragged him over to the full length mirror on the opposite wall. Harry quickly closed his eyes – he didn't want to see himself.

When he stopped Harry knew that Fred had placed him right in front of the mirror. He could feel the warmth from Fred's body against his back and the hot breath just below his ear. He fought hard to hold back the moan that wanted to escape.

"Open your eyes," Fred whispered.

Harry shook his head and tried to move away. Then Fred put his arms around his waist and held him in place.

"Trust me."

So small and simple words. But they made their way to Harry's heart. Yes, he trusted Fred. Slowly he opened his eyes and took in the sight. It made him stop breathing for a moment.

In the mirror before him he saw that Fred was right. Staring back at him were two emerald cat-like eyes. The ears on his head blended in with his unruly hair and could almost not bee seen. The tail flicked nervously behind him and had the same colour as his hair. The transformation had also changed his body. He'd always been small and thin. But now it was more even. He was lean and more elegant in his movements. His face had got more distinct features. And without the glasses to hide behind he could see that he was quite good looking.

He was still short, but that didn't really matter. In the mirror he looked at Fred that was standing behind him – still holding him tight. The red head rested on his shoulder and Harry smiled – Fred looked really good behind him.

Without thinking about it he started to purr. The soft sound spread throughout his body and throughout the room. Fred smiled.

"See? Told you you're beautiful. And you're all mine."

He kissed Harry's neck and sucked the skin into his mouth. Harry's purrs became deeper.

"Yours," he murmured and leaned closer to Fred.

Far too soon for Harry's liking Fred pulled away from his neck and relaxed the hold on Harry's waist.

"We should go downstairs," he whispered and kissed Harry's cheek once before letting go completely.

"Do we have to?" Harry complained.

Fred just smiled at him and moved closer to the door.

"But what if they're mean. They haven't seen me." Harry pouted and crossed his arms.

"Harry," Fred said and took hold of Harry's no ring clad hand. "They're your friends and family. They love you just like me. Okay, maybe not _just_ like me" he winked. "But they love you."

"Fine," Harry resigned. "But if they say anything I'll leave."

"If they say anything I'll hex them to next week."

At that Harry smiled and let himself be dragged out of the room.

As they closed in on the kitchen Harry felt the nervousness return. All the voices from the kitchen made him want to hide. Fred must have felt him tensing up because he let go of Harry's hand and put a reassuring arm over his shoulders instead.

"Molly's cooking," Harry said as the familiar scent reached him.

"How can you tell?"

"Well," Harry smiled. "I'd recognise the scent from her cooking everywhere. And besides, it's your mum. She always cooks for us.

"Good point."

Fred kissed his forehead.

Soon they stood outside the closed kitchen door. On the other side were all of Harry's friends waiting for him to congratulate him on his birthday. But Harry was scared. His tail twisted nervously behind him and his ears moved in every direction. More than anything he just wanted to run back to his room and stay there for the rest of the summer. He knew he was illogical, but at the moment he didn't care. The only thing keeping him in place was Fred's arm around him.

"Relax," Fred whispered. "I'm here with you."

Harry nodded but couldn't relax.

So instead of keeping Harry wallowing in fear Fred opened the door.

Harry looked in through the now open door and saw his friends. Molly was standing by the stove making the most wonderful breakfast. Ginny and Fleur sat by one end of the table and seemed to be talking about cutting Ginny's hair. Bill, George and Arthur sat deep in conversation about one thing or another. Remus was reading the paper and Sirius was staring at the food on the stove like he hadn't seen food in a long time. Ron and Hermione seemed to be very distracted by each other as they talked. And Harry could swear that they were holding hands under the table. He couldn't help but smile. _Finally_, he thought.

"Harry."

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard Sirius say his name. He looked up and saw that everyone was staring at him.

"What's happened mate?" Ron looked at him curiously.

"I…" Harry began, but was soon interrupted by Molly.

"Don't ask things like that Ronald. He's sixteen."

Ron looked lost for a moment, so Hermione sighed and whispered something to him. Harry could see how the light went up in Ron's eyes.

"Sorry mate," Ron said when Hermione pulled away. "Happy birthday."

"Don't stand in the door Harry," Molly said and came up to him with her wooden spoon still in hand. "Come. Sit down."

Since Harry was still frozen in place Fred had to almost drag him along to the big table. But Harry didn't sit down. Instead he became consumed by a tight hug from Hermione.

"Harry birthday Harry," she said and squeezed him tight.

"Thanks," choked out since Hermione was squeezing the air out of him.

"Okay", Sirius laughed. "Let the boy breath."

Hermione let go and Harry saw how Sirius got up to greet him. But seconds later Harry caught scent of him. Just like he had when Remus was close Harry instinctively arched his back and hissed at Sirius.

"What are you doing?" Sirius looked almost hurt at Harry's reaction.

Fred put a calming hand on Harry's shoulder once more.

"Calm down Raven. It's just Sirius."

A soft kiss was planted on Harry's neck and suddenly Harry realised what he was doing. He stopped hissing and relaxed his body. But he kept looking at Sirius suspiciously.

"What's the matter pup?" Sirius said with a half hearted laughter. "Or perhaps it should be kitten now."

"Sorry," Harry said and shifted nervously.

Then he mumbled something that Sirius couldn't hear, but that made Fred laugh.

"What's that kitten?"

"I said you smell like a dog," Harry blushed and looked away.

Sirius blinked in confusion a few times before he started to laugh.

"Count yourself lucky then that I don't feel the urge chase cats up the nearest tree," Sirius winked and took Harry in his arms.

Harry tensed up but soon relaxed as he realised that Sirius wasn't a threat – even though he smelled like a dog.

When Sirius let go Harry leaned back towards Fred because he was still feeling uneasy in the room. Fred just smiled at him and led him to the table where they sat down.

"Happy birthday dear," Molly smiled and put some food in front of Harry. "Eat up. You need it."

The love in her voice always made Harry feel better. He couldn't even begin to count all the times that he'd wished to be able to live with her family all the time.

Soon they were all eating and chatting away. Harry sat in silence and just enjoyed the company. His ears kept flicking in every direction to locate every sound. He was amazed by how much better he could hear now. It wasn't the usual buzz that always came when to many people were talking at the same time. No, he could hear every distinct voice and he could hear what all of them said.

Suddenly he was pulled out of his enjoyment when Hermione started to talk to him.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

She smiled at him and Harry couldn't help but look confused. He had no idea what she was talking about. Then he followed her eyes and saw that she was looking down on the ring and smiling. Harry blushed as he realised what she meant.

Everyone else had gone quiet when Hermione had spoken. And when they saw Harry blush George was the first one to connect the dots.

"So you finally did it Freddie," he grinned as he saw the ring. "You finally popped the question."

Everyone stared at Harry and Fred and they all saw the ring. That made Harry blush even deeper and he looked down in the table.

"I sure did Georgie," Fred winked and took Harry's hand in his. "And he accepted."

Hermione and Ginny smiled at them and congratulated them. Most of the men seemed a bit shocked. Not that Harry blamed them. It was a bit unexpected, even for him.

Molly seemed to be unable to decide on her reaction, and was at a loss of words.

"Not to be a killjoy or anything, " Hermione began and Harry knew that he wouldn't like what she was thinking. "But since you've come into this creature inheritance, don't you have a mate waiting for you out there?"

Fred shot her an angry glare and reached for his wand. He did not like what she was implying. Harry put a hand on Fred's to keep it away from the wand before he turned back to Hermione.

"According to the little that I've read I'm quite rare," he said with a sad smile. "So with I'll probably never find another one like me. And even if I do, I don't care. Cause I love Fred. And as you can see: I'm gonna marry him once I graduate."

He said the last thing very slow just to make it clear to everyone that this was his choice and that there was no one that could change his mind.

Hermione cringed in her seat a little as if she was trying to get away.

"I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to…I just…I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Harry sighed.

The air in the room had become quite tense after Hermione's question and everyone looked over at Harry and Fred.

"Soooo," George started and smiled towards the couple. "Have you started planning the wedding yet."

"I proposed ten minutes ago!" Fred exclaimed.

"And you haven't even started yet?" George said with mock horror.

"I've always wanted a summer wedding," Harry said with a small smile.

And then the talking started. Everyone wanted to know everything about how the wedding of his dreams would look like – and how they could make it reality.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews?<strong>


End file.
